Margarida Soares | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Margarida Soares | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Margarida Soares at CVR- CENTRO PARA A VALORIZAÇÃO DE RESÍDUOS, Portugal

Dr. Margarida Reis Soares is a multidisciplinary researcher specializing in the valorization of industrial and organic waste and the integration of circular economy principles. She holds a Master’s degree in Biological Engineering with a specialization in Technology in Chemical and Food Processing from the Universidade do Minho, Portugal. Currently, she serves as an investigator at the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia and the Centro para a Valorização de Resíduos (CVR). Over the years, Dr. Soares has contributed to numerous European Union-funded projects, addressing eco-innovation, green technologies, and sustainability. Her research emphasizes creating environmentally friendly solutions for waste recovery and fostering green growth in industries.

Publication Profile

Scopus

Orcid

Educational Details

Master’s Degree in Biological Engineering (Integrated Master’s Program)

  • Specialization: Technology in Chemical and Food Processing
  • Institution: Universidade do Minho, Portugal
  • Completion: November 2016
  • Thesis: “Estudo da Viabilidade da Diminuição das Temperaturas de Pasteurização Aplicadas aos Preparados Elaborados na Decorgel”
  • Graduation Grade: 17.07/20

Professional Experience

  • Investigator
    • Institution: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia / Centro para a Valorização de Resíduos (CVR), Portugal
    • Duration: November 2023 – Present
  • Researcher
    • Institution: Centro para a Valorização de Resíduos (CVR), Universidade do Minho, Portugal
    • Roles:
      • Investigated sustainable waste recovery and circular economy initiatives.
      • Collaborated on European Union-funded projects focused on eco-innovation and green technologies.
    • Duration: January 2017 – Present
  • Quality Control Laboratory Technician
    • Employer: Prozis, Portugal
    • Duration: July 2019 – July 2020

Research Interest

  • Valorization of industrial and organic waste.
  • Circular economy and sustainability strategies.
  • Development of eco-innovative materials using waste recovery.
  • Integration of bio-based processes in chemical and food engineering.
  • Technological solutions for green growth and environmental impact reduction.

Selected Research Projects

  • BioShoes4All (2023–Present): Innovation in sustainable bioeconomy for the footwear industry.
  • Mission2GG (2023–Present): Strategies for green growth, circularity, and eco-innovation.
  • RENew (2020–Present): Circular economy solutions for reintroducing construction waste.
  • VALORMAR (2017–Present): Valorization of marine resources through innovation.
  • EcoSustainable Rail (2016–Present): Development of eco-sustainable railway sleepers using mixed plastics.
  • UpCycle4Biz (2021–2023): Materials upcycling for promoting a circular economy.
  • Res2ValHum (2016–Present): Recovery of organic waste for humic substance production.

Publication Top Notes

“Peach processing wastes stabilization: Effect on the physical-chemical and microbiological properties”

  • Authors: Ribeiro, A., Soares, M., Valerio, N., Vilarinho, C., Carvalho, J.
  • Source: WASTES: Solutions, Treatments, and Opportunities IV – Selected Papers from the 6th International Conference Wastes, 2023, 2024, pp. 452–457.
  • Abstract and related documents: Disabled.

“Pig meat processing wastes stabilization: Effect on the microbiological properties”

  • Authors: Ribeiro, A., Soares, M., Valerio, N., Vilarinho, C., Carvalho, J.
  • Source: WASTES: Solutions, Treatments, and Opportunities IV – Selected Papers from the 6th International Conference Wastes, 2023, 2024, pp. 458–464.
  • Abstract and related documents: Disabled.

“An Experimental Setup for Plasma Gasification of Sewage Sludge”

  • Authors: Pacheco, N., Barbosa, F.V., Ribeiro, A., Teixeira, J.C.F., Vilarinho, C.
  • Source: Proceedings of the Thermal and Fluids Engineering Summer Conference, 2023, 2023-March, pp. 543–557.
  • Abstract and related documents: Disabled.
  • Citations: 2.

“Challenges of Digital Waste Marketplace—The Upvalue Platform”

  • Authors: Soares, M., Ribeiro, A., Vasconcelos, T., Vilarinho, C., Carvalho, J.
  • Source: Sustainability (Switzerland), 2023, 15(14), 11235.
  • Abstract and related documents: Disabled.
  • Citations: 2.

“Diving into Fish Valorisation: Review Opportunities and Analyzing Azorean Fish Data”

  • Authors: Valério, N., Soares, M., Vilarinho, C., Correia, M., Carvalho, J.
  • Source: Processes, 2023, 11(7), 1998.
  • Abstract and related documents: Disabled.
  • Citations: 5.

Conclusion

Dr. Margarida Soares is a strong candidate for the Best Researcher Award, particularly in the context of applied sustainability and circular economy research. Her work addresses global environmental challenges through innovative, practical solutions, and her involvement in EU-funded projects showcases her ability to collaborate on high-impact initiatives. However, to strengthen her candidacy further, she should focus on increasing her publication output, pursuing patents, and expanding her international footprint.

 

 

 

Xiaoming Li | Systems Engineering | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Xiaoming Li, Systems Engineering, Best Researcher Award

Doctorate at Concordia University, Canada

Summary:

Dr. Xiaoming Li is an accomplished researcher and educator with extensive experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and optimization models for shared mobility and smart logistics. With a Ph.D. in Information and Systems Engineering from Concordia University, his work focuses on integrating data-driven approaches to optimize urban transportation systems and enhance sustainability. He has a strong background in software engineering and has contributed significantly to both academic research and industry projects. Dr. Li has received several awards, including the IEEE Outstanding Leadership Award and the Mitacs Accelerate Program Award. As a dedicated educator, he has taught and mentored students across various institutions, shaping the next generation of computer scientists.

Professional Profile:

👩‍🎓Education:

Ph.D. in Information and Systems Engineering

  • Concordia University, Montréal, QC, Canada
  • Cumulative GPA: 4.0 / 4.3

M.Sc. in Computer Software and Theory

  • Northeastern University, China
  • Cumulative GPA: top 16.7%

B.Sc. in Computer Science and Technology

  • Shenyang Aerospace University, China

Professional Experience:

Dr. Xiaoming Li currently serves as a Research Associate at Concordia University, Montréal, where he supervises interdisciplinary research in artificial intelligence and operations research for shared mobility-on-demand applications. His role involves designing deep learning models for time-series demand forecasts, developing data-driven stochastic optimization models for renewable energy mobility management, and creating an integrated optimization framework for sustainable crowd-shipping services. Previously, Dr. Li held a Research Assistant position at Concordia, working on data analysis and machine learning model development for various projects, including forecasting commodity rates and predicting hotel booking cancellations.

Dr. Li’s industrial experience includes internships at Ericsson’s Global Artificial Intelligence Accelerator, where he developed an energy-saving framework for 5G base stations, and Medialpha, where he optimized nurse routing and medical resource allocation using meta-heuristic algorithms. Additionally, he has substantial experience as a Software Engineer at Shenyang Aerospace University, leading projects and managing teams.

In academia, Dr. Li has served as an Adjunct Faculty at Vanier College, teaching database theory and application development, and as a Full-Time Lecturer at Shenyang Aerospace University, instructing on a variety of computer science courses and supervising numerous student projects.

Research Interest:

  • Machine Learning
  • Operations Research
  • Data Science
  • Data-Driven Optimization
  • Agent-Based Simulation Modeling
  • Shared Mobility
  • Smart Logistics
  • Sustainable Intelligent Transportation Systems

Publications Top Noted: 

GREEN: A Global Energy Efficiency Maximization Strategy for Multi-UAV Enabled Communication Systems

  • N. Lin, Y. Fan, L. Zhao, X. Li, M. Guizani
  • IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing, 14, 2022.

BM-DDPG: An Integrated Dispatching Framework for Ride-Hailing Systems

  • J. Gao, X. Li, C. Wang, X. Huang
  • IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, 23(8), 11666-11676, 2021.

Driver Guidance and Rebalancing in Ride-Hailing Systems Through Mixture Density Networks and Stochastic Programming

  • X. Li, J. Gao, C. Wang, X. Huang, Y. Nie
  • 2021 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), 1-7, 2021.

Learning-Based Open Driver Guidance and Rebalancing for Reducing Riders’ Wait Time in Ride-Hailing Platforms

  • J. Gao, X. Li, C. Wang, X. Huang
  • 2020 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2), 1-7, 2020.

Ride-Sharing Matching Under Travel Time Uncertainty Through Data-Driven Robust Optimization

  • X. Li, J. Gao, C. Wang, X. Huang, Y. Nie
  • IEEE Access, 10, 116931-116941, 2022.